Piano chords · Pop heartbeat

How to play So So Long on piano

Tuning the piano…

Learn it

Learn So So Long in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

1
Chords: B – E – A – B
So So Long sits in E major: E is home, where the song ends. It goes round 4 chords: B is B, D# and F#; E is E, G# and B; A is A, C# and E. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.
BVEIAIVBV
- BB · D# · F#
- EE · G# · B
- AA · C# · E
87 songs go round the same chords
2
Left hand: Tick-tick-boom pulse
Two quick low notes and a high one, twice: ta-ta-DUM, ta-ta-DUM. Musicians call it root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4 (root bass rhythm), a medium pattern heard in 479 songs of the library.
Tick-tick-boom pulseRoot bass rhythm · PopLeft handMedium
3
Right hand: Shy chords
Waits out beat 1, then a chord on 2 and a little double on 3. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.
Shy chordsSyncopated chords · PopRight handEasy
4
Both hands at 132 BPM
Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.
5
Ending: A – B – E
The last chords are IV – V – I, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.
ABE

What chords are in So So Long?

The loop is B – E – A – B (V – I – IV – V) in E major, and the song ends on A – B – E.

What key is So So Long in?

E major, at about 132 beats a minute in 4/4.

What does the left hand play in So So Long?

Tick-tick-boom pulse: root bass · 8ths 1-2, 3-4, a medium pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is So So Long easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 4 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Made from one arrangement of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.